Ukrainian Cellmates Reveal Brutal Abuse of Freed American

The release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russian custody has ended, but the questions surrounding his treatment have only begun. Two Ukrainian men who were imprisoned alongside the 74-year-old retired teacher for more than four years say they witnessed Russian guards systematically beat and humiliate him. Their accounts provide a grim look into the daily reality of detention facilities on the Russian side of the border, challenging the narrative of a routine prisoner swap.

Hubbard was captured in April 2022 in Izyum, a city in eastern Ukraine that was occupied by Russian forces at the time. He lived there with his Ukrainian partner and was accused of serving in the Ukrainian armed forces. A court in Moscow eventually convicted him and sentenced him to six years and ten months in prison. His detention lasted four and a half years before he was finally freed.

Dmytro Khyliuk, a journalist, first encountered Hubbard in September 2022 at the Novozybkov prison in Bryansk. Khyliuk noted that guards singled out the American almost immediately. During inspections, officers would ask which cell held the American, using obscene language to threaten and mock him from the very beginning. Ihor Shyshko, a captured Ukrainian soldier, confirmed that Hubbard's nationality made him a target. Shyshko recalled that Hubbard was forced to learn Russian, sing the national anthem, and recite prison rules he could not read because he was illiterate in the language.

The physical abuse was frequent and severe. Shyshko stated that he saw and heard guards striking Hubbard on his legs, back, and arms. The former prisoner also reported that Hubbard was shocked with a stun gun, denied adequate food, and left without medical care in freezing temperatures. Shyshko alleged that the abuse included sexual humiliation intended to entertain prison staff. Khyliuk added that Hubbard's health deteriorated rapidly in their neighboring cells, with the former prisoner frequently complaining of pain and being summoned to the prison doctor.

Conditions at Novozybkov were described as harsh, with broken windows and bitter cold forcing detainees to huddle in bathrooms for warmth. The situation worsened after Hubbard was transferred to Pakino. Shyshko described the former teacher as weak and barely able to move, with rot covering his knees and feet. When the prison doctor refused to treat him, Shyshko bandaged Hubbard himself. The daily routine at this facility reportedly included forced running, stress positions, and beatings. On one occasion, a handler set a dog on prisoners to bite them.

Khyliuk claimed that Hubbard was hidden from visiting International Red Cross staff to conceal his poor condition. The Red Cross stated that it asks to see every individual when granted access and continues discussions with conflict parties on the matter. Hubbard disappeared from the prison in 2024, leading Khyliuk to believe he had been released. Khyliuk himself was returned to Ukraine in August 2025 as part of a prisoner exchange. He compared the experience to the Stalin era, calling Russian captivity a torture machine.

The Kremlin released Hubbard on the same day that US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Witkoff described the Russian president as a humanitarian, while US President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin for Hubbard's freedom in a phone call the previous week. Khyliuk expressed relief for Hubbard, noting it was not his war, but criticized the timing as shameful public relations for a president facing congressional elections. Shyshko remains hopeful that those responsible for the abuse will eventually face justice, stating that evil must be punished.

The accounts of Khyliuk and Shyshko support statements made by Hubbard's family regarding the torture he endured. While the former teacher is now free, the detailed descriptions of his treatment offer a stark perspective on the human cost of the ongoing conflict.